


Life Amongst the Decay

by ProteanRedux



Series: Commissions!:D [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Mentions of Death, One Shot, ReyRose FTW, Rogue One - Freeform, Rose Tico Needs Protected, commission, scavenger hunt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:54:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28742835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProteanRedux/pseuds/ProteanRedux
Summary: Rose embarks on a scavenging mission to a decimated planet, and she meets a new friend along the way.
Relationships: Rey/Rose Tico
Series: Commissions!:D [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2107260
Kudos: 4





	Life Amongst the Decay

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever commission! Hope you like it, Colin.

The scorched surface of the planet that Rose Tico found herself upon provided very little in the way of home comfort; what had one been lush and verdant greenery was now little more than ash and dried out husks, white sand turned a mottled grey as a result of the unimaginable power that had struck the surface. There was an audible crunch when she hopped down from the ladder of the X-Wing, soles of her boots crushing dehydrated and decayed foliage beneath her.

It had taken some persuading, and a final, silencing kiss pressed to Rey’s lips, to convince the Jedi that this little scavenging mission was worthwhile – and, more importantly, safe. 

“Think of what secrets could still be hiding in that vault, Rey.” She’d said, holding the battered Imperial handbook out for the taller woman to see. “We could learn a few things from the tech that the Empire was developing.” 

Now here she was, hand held above her brow to fend off the baking sunlight that was beating down on her. Despite the devastation that had been inflicted on the surface, the planet’s sun was still uncompromising.

It was a short walk to what had once been an Imperial security complex; a ferrocrete structure jutted up from what had once been a beachhead, sections of the facility broken and blasted into dust. A morbid curiosity overtook the mechanic as she drew closer; despite the destruction that the Empire’s superweapon had wrought her, her inquisitive and tinker-inclined nature had intrigued by just how the battle station had operated. Shaking her head after a moment of deep thought, she continued, striding through what had, presumably, once been the main entrance to the complex.

If there was one thing that the Empire did right, Rose thought, it was designing a building that could stay standing. Despite the destruction that the Death Star had rained down on Scarif’s surface, the interior of the building was remarkably intact. Sure, sunlight was now beaming through a gaping hole in the roof, and every surface was covered in a thick layer of ash and dust, but she wanted to focus on the positives. One such silver lining was the fact that she’d been able to land directly outside the main facility; it meant that she didn’t have to trudge through the broken-down transport corridor that lead to the heart of the complex.

Glancing down at the durasteel below her feet, she couldn’t help but recoil in disgust at the array of small, damaged bones that littered the ground. It was to be expected, of course – the Empire had fired on their own base before its inhabitants had a chance to evacuate, and it was impossible to say how many of the Empire’s own forces were caught in the blast, alongside the entirety of Rogue One. Despite the deep divide that ran between the Rebellion and the Empire, the Resistance and the First Order, she couldn’t help but sympathise with the abject terror that the men and women must have felt in their final moments. Subconsciously she found herself clutching her necklace, just for a moment, before she straightened her posture and moved forward. 

It was only a feet forward when she saw the first downed droid; it was a K2 class, she knew that much, but she had never seen one up close. Hurrying forward to crouch by the shattered, lifeless corpse of the unit, Rose swiftly fished her hydrospanner from the satchel at her waist. She knew just from looking at it that there was no repairing it; there was a deep gouge in the machine’s head, as well as the fact that two of its limbs had been crushed by a block of ferrocrete. Still, that didn’t mean that there weren’t parts to be salvaged, even if it was just to study them.

With minimal effort, she managed to pry open the chestplate, heaving out a cough when a plume of dust was expelled in her direction. Dropping the armour to the ground beside her, she reached forward to gingerly take hold of the K2’s power core. It still seemed to be intact, and she was sure that she could still feel the gentle thrum of energy through the casing. Slipping it into her satchel along with the tool, she pushed herself to her feet and headed deeper into the facility. 

Bone, broken stone and busted droids were all she found for the majority of her trek, repetitive grimy hallways greeting her no matter which way she turned. Almost certain that she had taken a wrong turn and somewhat certain that she had passed that mound of bones at least once before, Rose was all but ready to turn on her heel and back the way she came, until she came to a vast metal bulkhead, larger than the rest. Beside it sat a small console, and behind that laid another of the K2 units – this one, remarkably intact, save for the blaster scorching that riddled its torso. 

Dropping to her knees beside the droid, she repeated the motions she’d undertaken with the first – prying over its chest casing, exposing the wiring and the internal workings. Eyes immediately drawn to the charred shell that was its power core, she immediately took a hold of the cylinder and drew it out, allowing it to hit the floor beside her with a heavy thud. 

The working core was pulled from her satchel and slid into the K2 unit within seconds, and Rose couldn’t help but cross her fingers while she waited to see if the droid would slowly come back online. When the white lights of its photoreceptors began to flicker to life, she expelled a sound that was half laugh, half gasp of surprise.

“Hey! Hi there. I know you’ve been offline for a while, but, well. You’re back.” 

The droid didn’t react for a moment, maintaining its stillness before its head jerked upwards. One of its photoreceptors stuttered, blinking out for a second before the white light reappeared. The sound that came from it was garbled, muffled by static, but she was certain that she could make out the words correctly when they were repeated.

“Cassian? Where is <𝙕𝙕𝙕𝙏>ian?”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, for commissions or general bantz, find me @ProteanRedux on Twitter.


End file.
